With Qlik Sense May 2021, BI vendor Qlik has rolled out the May release for the client-managed version of Qlik Sense, which again includes several optimizations and new features.
BI provider Qlik changed the release cycle for the client-managed versions of its products – including Qlik Sense. In the future, only four releases will be rolled out per year, in the second month of each quarter. The new Qlik Sense version was therefore not released in April as in previous years, but now under the name Qlik Sense May 2021. Some of the innovations introduced have already been available in the SaaS version of Qlik Sense for some time. Qlik Sense May 2021 includes the following highlights:
Insight Advisor Chat and Insight Advisor Search enhancement
With the new release, Qlik Sense has once again improved analytics. Among other things, the Insight Advisor Chat has been enhanced with smarter app selection when answering questions and a refined user interface for question parsing.
Insight Advisor Search has also been improved. It is now possible to analyze changes over time. To do this, Insight Advisor now generates multiple charts for a single type of analysis (e.g. by combining charts when analyzing data in a specific date range). In addition, visual charts generated by Insight Advisor Search now have a new option to display narrative insights and interpretations of the data.
Active chart and grid dimensions
Improvements have again been made to the visualization capabilities in Qlik Sense May 2021. For example, enhanced grid dimension capabilities in visualizations now enable better identification of the chart location and associated dimensions on the design canvas. Also new is an indicator on the bottom right side of an object that contains the added dimensions and coordinates when chart objects are moved or resized on the design canvas.
Improved combination chart
Furthermore, Qlik Sense May 2021 includes an improved combination chart. This has been enhanced with the ability to display vertically, reference lines based on measures and dimensions, and new line and bar design options.
New connector for Databricks and Azure Synapse Analytics
To support Databricks, Qlik Sense now includes a corresponding pre-configured connector including the new Spark 3.0 engine. The Databricks Connector leverages Databricks’ SQL Analytics service and enables easy integration of data into Databricks. This generates a comprehensive view of key business information, as well as new insights and data-driven actions. Qlik is also expanding the number of data sources that can be accessed directly with the introduction of a new connector for Azure Synapse Analytics.
In addition to the new features listed, Qlik Sense May 2021 also includes support for the Microsoft Edge mobile browser on iOS and Android devices, a new feature to embed and play videos directly in Qlik Sense apps, improved ODAG performance and the ability to create and edit tasks in the Hub to improve management and planning.